


supply run

by gingergenower



Series: her boyfriend; actual superhero [1]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Peter Parker is a Sweetheart, Squick for blood, Swearing, partner fic to 'cramps' but also a whole story standalone, talking about periods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 23:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11610744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingergenower/pseuds/gingergenower
Summary: Spider-Man walks in, mask on and everything. Either he’s a kid in fancy dress or they’re about to get robbed.





	supply run

**Author's Note:**

  * For [enchantedsleeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantedsleeper/gifts).



Cassie’s on shift with a sixteen year old who keeps ducking into the back to text his boyfriend, so she’s keeping an eye on the tills as well as stacking the shelves. 

She yawns, stifling it with the back of her hand. The last time she checked the time it was after eight, and she never actually took her lunch break because- well, she never does- and today might well be the day she falls asleep standing. A loaf of bread in each hand, she shoves them to the back of the shelf, glancing at the door. 

Spider-Man walks in, mask on and everything. Either he’s a kid in fancy dress or they’re about to get robbed.

On seeing Cassie, he bounces up the aisle to her. ‘Hey! Um, my girlfriend’s got really bad cramps. I’m on a supply run.’ Voice perky and not fully broken, he’s definitely in fancy dress- and she’ll have to ask him where he got the suit. Frankie will want to know.

Straightening up and rolling her shoulders back, Cassie rubs her eyes. ‘What do you need?’

‘She said heat packs usually help. And I figured I should get tampons and stuff too.’

She’s about to point in the direction of the right aisle, but she sighs and leads the way. He’s never done a tampon run before, clearly; not old enough. He skips after her.

Picking up two different pack, she holds them out. ‘These are the best we’ve got for cramps.’

‘Period cramps?’

Well. At least the kid’s trying to do it right. The last guy she did this with wouldn’t even look at the boxes of tampons to make a decision, let alone say the word ‘period’ out loud. 

She liked making him squirm. ‘Yeah, period cramps. One’s reusable, one’s not, but the reusable ones take some time in the microwave to heat up. The throwaway ones you snap and they heat up straight away.’

He takes the throwaway ones. ‘I’m already late.’

‘Get distracted on your way?’

‘Something like that.’ He’s practically vibrating with energy, hopping foot to foot, but it’s more like he’s waking her up than annoying her. ‘And tampons?’

‘There’s lots of different options…’ she says, leading him further down the aisle. ‘What size does she want?’

‘I’m going to be honest with you, I’m so far out of my depth right now I might drown,’ he says, hand on his hip and heat pack tucked under his arm, giving off the air of someone mildly curious.

‘You probably should just go medium, no applicators,’ she says, passing the box to him.

‘Cool. Should I get pads too? I heard a girl at- er, work- say she doesn’t like wearing tampons.’

‘It might be an idea.’ Cassie looks at the shelves, weighing it up. ‘These liners should do. They’re not heavy-duty, but she can change them regularly if she needs to.’

The kid- he’s got to be no older than high school- takes the other box. ‘Thanks.’

‘Anything else?’

‘One second.’ Diving around the corner, she counts to three and he skids back into view, juggling with a tub of cookie dough ice cream. She feels like he’s grinning when he says, ‘it’s traditional, right?’

‘It’s usually chocolate, actually.’

He shrugs, and they head to the checkout.

While she’s scanning everything, he’s quiet, humming something under his breath and packing the grocery bag before she can even try to. 

He distracts himself, rooting through his backpack, and it’s the first time she looks at him properly.

Lean, but strong, there’s something sure in the way he stands even though he barely stands still. The eyes on the suit squint as he digs deeper in his backpack, and glancing at his wrists, she realises he’s wearing web shooters.

…oh.

Spider-Man pulls out a wad of one-dollar bills, and starts counting out the right amount.

Cassie tries to steady her breathing, but she’s shaking, every cell in her body vibrating. She shouldn’t say anything.

He holds out the money, and she takes it, counting out the $22 he gave her and giving him his 78 cents change. Tossing the change in the charity collection box, he throws his bag over his shoulder and looks like he’s about to walk away.

_Fuck_.

‘I have this friend, Frankie- her little boy was four last week.’

Spider-Man stops, looking at her. Her voice is weird and high.

‘A few months back she was walking by the park with him- his name’s Bertie- and he was on his tricycle. She took her eyes off him for two seconds and he was out in the middle of a road. A car was coming.

‘You- she said you came out of nowhere. You picked him up, put him back on the sidewalk and told him to stick with his mum. She was so hysterical she never even thanked you.’ 

Frankie still cries when she talks about it. That little boy’s her whole world.

He’s very still, and very quiet.

‘You probably don’t even remember it, but Frankie would never forgive me if I didn’t say thank for her,’ Cassie says, taking a deep breath. ‘So thank you.’

‘He was- um, he was wearing an Iron Man sweater, wasn’t he?’

‘Yes, probably.’ That goddamn sweater.

Scratching the back of his neck, he nods. ‘Tell her I hope he had a nice birthday.’

‘Well, actually,’ she says, and she can’t help smiling, ‘you kind of screwed her over for that.’

He frowns.

‘He refuses to wear that Iron Man sweater now. He won’t touch anything Iron Man at all, because Bertie’s new favourite superhero is Spider-Man.’

His laughter bursts out of him, utterly delighted.

‘He was basically impossible to shop for. Do you know how hard it is to find Spider-Man _anything_?’ she asks, and he only laughs harder. ‘We found one t-shirt, _once_ , and Bertie saw it and said it didn’t look like yours and if it’s not right, he won’t have it.’

‘Er… whoops?’ he says, trying to control himself.

‘Personally, I think you should make it to Frankie,’ she says, and she might be pushing for too much but fuck it, she’s going to ask anyway. ‘And do her a favour.’

He leans in. ‘I’m listening.’

‘Frankie finished her degree last year, in textile design. If I could just take a picture of your suit, I can send it to her and she can make a replica for him.’

The room goes quiet- he pulls back, hesitating.

Holding her hands up, she swallows. ‘You don’t have to. I understand if you don’t want to.'

He explains to her it’s not himself he’s worried about. There are some pretty nasty people that’d be happy to hurt anyone if they thought it might hurt Spider-Man, so he makes her promise she’ll never show them to anyone or post them online.

She snaps a quick picture of him with her cell, but then he asks if she’s got a piece of paper and a pen.

Writing “happy (late) birthday Bertie! –from your friend, Spider-Man” and signing it with the spider icon on his chest, he makes Cassie take a selfie with him while he holds up the piece of paper. He even makes her check the photos before he leaves, that they’re all in focus and what Frankie will need. Scooping up his grocery bag on the way out, he waves goodbye and she calls after him that she hopes his girlfriend feels better.

Once he's gone, she sends all the photos straight to Frankie, asking “was Bertie wearing the Greatly Rejected Iron Man Sweater when Spider-Man saved him? bcos Spidey says he was”.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, enchantedsleeper!


End file.
